As I wrote about this morning, the CBC reported today that “the Harper government is signalling its intention to use hate crime laws against Canadian advocacy groups that encourage boycotts of Israel.” Various devotees of Israel, such as David Frum, spent the morning insisting that the CBC story is false. Now, the Harper government is following suit, issuing a (nonresponsive) statement that reads, in its entirety: “This [CBC] story is inaccurate and ridiculous. These laws have been on the books for many years and have not changed.”

Below is the email exchange between the CBC reporter, Neil Macdonald, and the spokesman for the Public Safety Department that leaves no doubt that the Harper government did exactly what the CBC reported: namely, cited various criminal hate speech laws when asked what, specifically, the Canadian Government would do to enforce its so-called “zero tolerance policy” against advocates of boycotting Israel. They added that “we will not allow hate crimes to undermine our way of life, which is based on diversity and inclusion”:

Email from Public Safety spokesperson Josée Sirois to CBC’s Macdonald:

Good afternoon Mr. Macdonald,

We received your voicemail on our media relations line.

Glad to assist with your request. If you could please send us your
question(s) and your deadline, we’ll do our best to get back to you as soon as possible.

To be clear, I am not asking you for a boilerplate statement on what the Canadian government thinks of BDS, or Israel, or antisemitism. I think I understand that pretty well.

My question is what does “zero tolerance” for BDS mean?

How does that translate into government action? And does the MOU signed between Canada and Israel in January, which also speaks about combating anti-semitism (and the MOU characterizes BDS as antisemitism) have any force in Canadian law? Are the authorities who work for Mr. Blaney actually doing anything about the BDS movement that Mr. Blaney professes zero tolerance for?

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Email from Sirois to Macdonald

Good morning Mr. Macdonald,

A short note to let you know that your request was passed along to our colleagues at Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada. They indicated they would follow-up with you directly.

It is your minister I will be quoting, not the foreign affairs minister.

For the record, and I want to be quite clear, I am asking what the public safety minister, whose authority includes intelligence and law enforcement, meant when he said canada is adopting “zero tolerance” toward BDS.

His comments have elicited concerns from various Canadian NGOs, and I will be exploring and recording those concerns, and I have a duty to offer minister blaney’s office the opportunity to comment.

Are you telling me you are declining comment on his behalf?

I’d appreciate a response. I understand you have no obligation to respond, but I am bound to ask, and to reflect any response or non-response in my story.

All the very best,
Neil Macdonald

Email from Sirois to Macdonald (emphasis in original):

Good evening Neil,

As previously mentioned, DFATD will be addressing your questions regarding the work being done with Israel regarding BDS.

With regards to Canadian criminal law, I can tell you that Canada has one of the most comprehensive sets of laws against hate crime anywhere in the world. There are three existing hate propaganda provisions in the *Criminal Code*: advocating or promoting genocide against an identifiable group (subsection 318(1) of the Criminal Code); inciting hatred in a public place against an identifiable group that is likely to cause a breach of the peace
(subsection 319(1) of the Criminal Code) and wilfully promoting hatred against an identifiable group (subsection 319(2) of the Criminal Code). “Identifiable group” includes any section of the public distinguished by, among other characteristics, religion or national or ethnic origin. Section 320 of the *Criminal Code* provides for the seizure and forfeiture of hate propaganda kept for sale or distribution in premises within the jurisdiction of the court. Section 320.1 authorizes a judge to order the deletion of hate propaganda stored on and made available to the public through a computer system within the jurisdiction of the court.

In addition, the *Criminal Code* of Canada has specific legislation to address crimes motivated by hate. Paragraph 718.2(a)(i) of the *Criminal Code* provides that evidence that an offence was motivated by hate, bias or prejudice, including that based on national or ethnic origin or religion, shall be considered by the judge when determining the sentence of an offender.

Section 430(4.1) of the *Criminal Code* also creates a specific crime of mischief in relation to a building that is primarily used for religious worship, including a church, mosque or synagogue or a cemetery, where the mischief is motivated by bias, prejudice, or hate based on religion, race, colour or national or ethnic origin.

In addition, the Communities at Risk: Security Infrastructure Program helps communities fight against hate-motivated crimes. It is an example of our Government’s strong commitment to preventing crime and making our streets safe. This program invests in security infrastructure enhancements at not-for-profit community centres, educational institutions, and places of worship linked to a community with a history of being victimized by hate-motivated crime. This program helps to ensure community members can practice their faith, culture, and activities peacefully, without fear of harm. We will not allow hate crimes to undermine our way of life, which is based on diversity and inclusion.